Yelp’s annual Top 100 Places to Eat “celebrates local restaurants across the U.S. that reflect the unique tastes of the Yelp community.” Yelp’s annual Top 100 Places to Eat list covers a wide range of places to eat — from white tablecloth to food trucks and taquerias. Three Maryland restaurants made the 2024 list, coming in ranked 20th, 82nd, and 87th. Nominations for 2025 begin October 1st.
Born Evil: The Serial Killer and the Savior, a true-crime miniseries from executive producer Michael Bay, premiered on September 2 on Investigation Discovery (ID) and is now streaming on MAX. The series, which covers two murders in Montgomery County, MD, drew over 6.4 million viewers in its first week, according to TheWrap.
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
Red Lobster has announced that it has successfully exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is now under new USA-based ownership. In May, many Red Lobster restaurants across the country, including both Montgomery County locations in Gaithersburg and Silver Spring, abruptly closed.
MoCo High School Sports Scores for Sep 18, 2024:
At The Head Spa by Bare, we believe that true beauty begins with a healthy scalp, its your unique wellness experience for the mind and body. Relax with aromatherapy and gentle massages while healing your scalp.
Head Spa Facial rituals are a unique and luxurious experience that focuses on relaxing and revitalizing the scalp and hair. These rituals combine traditional Japanese techniques with modern spa treatments to provide a holistic approach to wellness.
October 10 & 11, 2026
The MoCo Epic is a festival celebrating mountain biking, natural surface trails, and the community that makes this region a great place to ride! 2026 marks the 16th anniversary of the MoCo Epic.
UPDATE: Sadie Lena Browne has been located safe and unharmed.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Sadie Lena Browne, a missing 15-year-old from Germantown. (more…)
The eight annual Wheaton Arts Parade and Festival returns to Downtown Wheaton on Sunday, September 29, with festivities running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Maryland State Police are warning residents about an internet scam targeting Gmail users, where scammers use Google Maps images of victims’ homes and demand Bitcoin payments, threatening to release personal information if money isn’t sent. (more…)
On Wednesday, Governor Wes Moore announced that the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business Affairs has increased the Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise Program’s participation goal from 1% to 3%, effective immediately. (more…)
A Gaithersburg man won $50,000 after purchasing a winning Powerball ticket at the Cedar Grove Store in Germantown, a local spot known for its craft beer and sandwiches, including the popular “David Special,” featuring smoked turkey or ham, bacon, pepperjack cheese, chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and horseradish bread and butter pickles. Full story below courtesy MDLottery: (more…)
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) is investigating a homicide after an 18-year-old woman was discovered deceased at a home on the 18600 block of Calypso Place in Montgomery Village.
Earlier today, the Justice Department filed a civil claim in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.